The Android operating system powered nearly three out of four smartphones shipped worldwide in the recently ended quarter as the mobile platform dominated the market, according to industry trackers at IDC.

"Android has been one of the primary growth engines of the smartphone market since it was launched in 2008," said IDC's mobile phones research manager Ramon Llamas."

Yeah, Windows 8 will probably change things. Yet it will be for the same reasons that Google is starting to dominate the marketplace: the relative openness of the platforms has created a market where there are more options for both hardware and software.

Nobody should be surprised by this, especially Apple, because this story has played out time and time again.

I don't think Windows Mobile 8 will really change anything to be honest I think BB10 is actually more interesting and that's not saying much, Microsofts never really been very good in the mobile market I don't expect that to change and I find tiles very unappealing and boring to be honest.

I'd say the only other mobile OS that could even threaten is Samsungs own Tizen/Bada which looks like it could actually replace Android pretty well in a few years.

This is of course true, but the real question is how long can they make that kind of profit as their market share dwindles? There are many examples of this kind of strategy failing in the long term, including at Apple. And of course what's great for a company's bottom line isn't always what's best for consumers.

Microsoft is following a similar strategy on the software side with Windows 8, which to me looks like they pretty much handed the mobile market to Google on a silver platter and opened the door for others to make inroads into PCs. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out over the next 5 years.

I certainly do not like the industry trend of more closed ecosystems. But I'm not a big fan of Google's privacy invasions either.

I read an article on Wired Magazine written by Owen Faraday that dealt with strategic board games and why there were fewer board games from Android then for iProducts. He was focused mainly on games like Pauerto Rico, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Phantom Leader and the like.

Granted this is a niche market but it might be something that appears across other app submarkets.

After intreviewing developers and programmers, Owen finds that there are many more games available for Apple products because it is easier to code for one IOS, there are fewer forks to worry about, and IProduct users are more willing to pay $5 or more for an app. Even as the Apple market share shrinks, the Apple app market is more profitable and will receive more attention then the Android market.

I cannot access the article at work, hence the details in case anyone wants to look it up. The article lead to discussion at boardgamegeeks and Pockettactics where a fair number of developers chimed in that they agreed with the aticles premise.

You would have thought that Apple would have learned their lesson when Microsoft started dominating the PC.
Apache

Yes, another lesson to be learned from this hard-up, failing business... when will the "Knock Apple brigade" learn that there's more than one business model around... as said above, let Samsung have their mass market sales for less than a third of the profit that Apple made from their failing business...

I read an article on Wired Magazine written by Owen Faraday that dealt with strategic board games and why there were fewer board games from Android then for iProducts. He was focused mainly on games like Pauerto Rico, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Phantom Leader and the like.

Granted this is a niche market but it might be something that appears across other app submarkets.

After intreviewing developers and programmers, Owen finds that there are many more games available for Apple products because it is easier to code for one IOS, there are fewer forks to worry about, and IProduct users are more willing to pay $5 or more for an app. Even as the Apple market share shrinks, the Apple app market is more profitable and will receive more attention then the Android market.

I cannot access the article at work, hence the details in case anyone wants to look it up. The article lead to discussion at boardgamegeeks and Pockettactics where a fair number of developers chimed in that they agreed with the aticles premise.

That's true, to a point. Market share does matter, especially when it is as dominating as what Android is starting to do. So I would expect this to change over the next few years.

In the 1980's Apple dominated the PC Market. They controlled hardware and software. No one was licensed to sell any part of an Apple product. Along came Microsoft with a software only business model. Anyone could manufacture the hardware for a DOS?Windows PC. All Microsoft wanted to control was the OS. PC Computers became cheaper than Apple computers. As more and more people bought Windows OS less and less bought Apple's Products. Still Apple refused to allow any one else to manufacture Apple Hardware. Apple was going the way of the dinosaurs when the iPod/iPhone happened along. Now they are losing market share again. Sound familiar?
And I am not an Apple hater. I own an iPhone and have had it for 3 years.
Apache

Yes, another lesson to be learned from this hard-up, failing business... when will the "Knock Apple brigade" learn that there's more than one business model around... as said above, let Samsung have their mass market sales for less than a third of the profit that Apple made from their failing business...

I'm not a Samsung fan for a variety of reasons, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet on Samsung being a greater long-term success than Apple. They are simply a far more diverse company and capable of doing their own manufacturing. Apple is very good at what they do but their revenue is based on a limited portfolio.

Not trying to start a fanboy war or anything, I just find it to be an interesting point of discussion.